Another Saturday

Went garage saling again today - and got another great wrought iron piece.  It almost looks like a pot bellied stove on a stand.  $1.
Simply for household I got a glass decanter and a green glass bottle $2.50.
We didn't do a ton of looking around for sales because we got up pretty late this morning.  Most of the money I got out of the ATM I spent on lunch (Hideaway Pizza).

Now for a debate.  These are both DIY Pomanders (in leu of spending more money on floral arrangements) to use on chairs at the end of the aisles at the ceremony.  I'm not sure which I like better or if I like them just the same.  The tissue paper ones obviously look...fuller, I guess; but does that make them look BETTER necessarily?  They probably cost right at about the same amount, so thats not really an issue.  Finding silver tissue paper would be a lot easier than finding silver fabric though.  If I go through with the lantern idea for centerpieces, I think I'd like to use the tissue ones and make like "half balls" (ha!) and put them in the bottom where the tea light out to go.  Thoughts?

fabric pomanders

tissue paper pomanders

Speaking of centerpieces - I think I'd like to just really switch it up.  Like some tables have the wrought iron, some tables have vases with fake flowers floating in water....spice things up a bit.  As long as everything else on the tables are uniform (plates, napkins, silverware, glasses, etc) I think that would work.

As promised, here is the link to my pinterest wedding board...
http://pinterest.com/madelenegail/wedding/
I really really need to get to cleaning if I want to get started on these DIY projects any time soon, I'd like to have the house in total order first.

Back To Blogging, Part II

Well, it was almost a year ago that I wrote that I was going to start blogging again.  Then things got crazy like they always do and I lost site of it.  I'm working hard on managing my time better - so hopefully this won't be the last post for 2011.

Matthew and I set a date.  Yes, like an actual date.  September 8, 2012.  This is the perfect date.  It is on the 8th (like my birthday, my mom's birthday, my grandma's birthday, my dad's birthday and my parent's anniversary), and this 8th happens to be a Saturday.  Then venue we want is Tres Suenos vineyard in Luther, OK.  This statement comes with a caveat - we haven't actually visited the place yet, asked if it can hold 150-200 guests or booked it yet.  It's all in the works though.  The price is right - just about $1300, and hopefully sometime in August we could put down a deposit.  We could surely swing the entire amount, but I'd hope they'd only ask for half in advance at the most.

A lot of the wedding will have to be DIY on such a tight budget, but I am optimistic.  I have a coworker who does photography on the side and seems to be willing to trade my artistic prowess (restoring old furniture/painting) for hers.  So, there's at least $1000 I can put toward something else.  The guest list is on the way and I'm hoping that with as 438 days to go (still, it's going to go fast) I can maybe learn calligraphy - or just use my own awesome handwriting :) - and not worry too much about specially printed invitations.  Just get some basic, but stylish, invitations from a national, online printing company, and then personalize them to my taste and not have to pay someone else to address them for me.  Postage is actually the thing that worries me the most about the invitations, so I think I'll make a point to buy a book of forever stamps each month, just in case the price of stamps happens to go up between now and then. I have some great ideas for centerpieces and have already started working on them a little bit.  I bought some lanterns (with stands) at a garage sale this weekend.  They need to be cleaned up a bit, but once they are - I think that they will make cute centerpieces (and not really require a bunch of florals to go with them - maybe just put one bloom where a tea light ought to go).  I will post before and after pictures as they come.  Obviously I won't be able to find 20 matching lanterns with stands - so I'm looking for random and unique alternatives.  I have one lantern/type/object, that wouldn't work with a stand but might be tall enough to stand on it's own.  I also have two small round lantern things that would look great on stands, but no stands.  So I'll keep scouring garage sales and ebay for a great deal on objects like these, restore them and make them everything that I want them to be!

Every little bit helps and if anyone knows someone with a wedding related skill that would be willing to help out (no matter how early before the wedding) it's all appreciated.  Every little place that we are able to save a few dollars means that we can invite more of the wonderful people who have impacted our lives so much to share in our special day - the more the merrier.

I also started a pinboard on pinterest.com that I hope you take a look at.  I will merge some of the pictures on to here at some point so that there won't be much need to clicking back and forth but for now, here is the link
http://pinterest.com/madelenegail/wedding/
It has a variety of things, from dresses - bridal and bridesmaid - to favors, color schemes, DIY ideas and more.

It's late now, and of course I have to be up for work in the morning, but am having trouble sleeping.  Hopefully that will become part of my newly organized life - that I can get to bed at a decent hour.  It remains to be seen.